Microsoft Sculpt Mobile Keyboard Review

Table of Contents

Introduction, Design & Features

Portable Bluetooth keyboards are useful companions to complement a tablet, or a laptop whose keyboard is, perhaps, more cramped than you’d like. The $49.99-list Microsoft Sculpt Mobile Keyboard aims to fill that need, and it does it competently, though some of the key-level design choices left our fingers a little frazzled.

In some ways, the $49.99 Sculpt Mobile Keyboard parallels its larger, Windows 8-centric brother meant for desktop PCs, the Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Keyboard. Their design elements are similar, with a curved shape and keys that vary in size, as well as a set of Windows 8 shortcut keys. This model’s more compact size and slighter curvature, however, mean you can take it with you with ease. (The Sculpt Comfort model's oversize USB dongle and bigger dimensions keep it desk-bound.)

While we had some gripes with the flat, tight nature of the keys, the Microsoft Sculpt Mobile Keyboard has a distinctly fuller feel than another of Microsoft’s portable-keyboard offerings, the excellent $79.99 Wedge Mobile Keyboard, which has a more compact, rectangular design. (We gave that keyboard four stars and an Editors' Choice award.)

The Sculpt Mobile Keyboard, by contrast, benefits from its larger, roomier shape. The slight curve to the keyboard is also reflected in the key layout, with certain of the keys sized larger due to the geometry. The designers took full advantage of the keyboard's curvature to maximize the size of the oft-pressed buttons. Still, if you’re a touch typist, it may take a few tries to get the hang of the key placement, as well as the shallow vertical key travel (that is, the up-and-down distance it takes to press a key). The travel will feel more like what you’re accustomed to on a laptop than a desktop keyboard.

For the price, the Sculpt Mobile Keyboard could prove a strong complement to your mobile-gear bag if the key layout is to your liking. But its extra size means you might not be able to pack it all that conveniently alongside a tablet, even a full-size 10-incher.

Design & Features

What the Sculpt Mobile Keyboard lacks in design panache (perhaps its snazzy Wedge Mobile Keyboard cousin sapped all of that), it makes up for with its sturdy design and gentle curvature. Though made of plastic, the Sculpt Mobile Keyboard doesn’t feel flimsy. We typed on it gently, and we typed on it hard and furiously; we experienced no give or flex in the key bed, as we too often do with portable keyboards. That's a big plus.

The 83-key layout of the Sculpt Mobile Keyboard.

The look of the keyboard’s underside is very straightforward. A slight rise along the rear edge gives the keyboard a barely-there lift of about an eighth of an inch. Flip the keyboard's body over, and you’ll see the battery cover toward the left side. Two AAA batteries come in the box. (Microsoft says the batteries should last about 10 months under ordinary use.) To the left of the battery cover is the Bluetooth-pairing button, which is recessed a bit more than we'd like (to prevent accidental activation), as well as the power switch.

Pressing the very recessed Bluetooth pairing button (between the power switch and the battery bay) may take a pen tip.

From the front, the keyboard has more distinctive characteristics. The graceful, gentle curvature is designed to promote better ergonomics, according to Microsoft. The keys follow along that curve, but with some variations, as the curvature dictates. For example, the largest keys are in the center: In the three rows with letters, the "T" and "Y" are the the largest in the rearmost of those rows, followed by the "G" and "H," and the "B" and "N" below that. The latter four keys are almost one and a half times the size of a normal, outlying key, such as the "A."

Also of note is the row of roomy keys down the left side, with large buttons for Tab, Caps Lock, and Shift, complemented by larger-than-typical Ctrl, Windows, and Alt keys on the bottom row. Also of note are the generously sized Backspace, Shift, and Enter keys at right, and the vertically tall, two-row-deep Delete button in the upper right corner.

As you can see here, the letter-key size varies on the Sculpt Mobile according to the curvature. (See "B," for example.)

Given the attention here to key size and position, we were surprised that the shortcut/function keys across the top of the board were as small as they are—especially considering that they double for various media-playback and Windows 8 navigation controls. Also surprising was the awkwardly narrow measure of the navigation buttons. In both instances, a little more breathing room—even only a few extra millimeters—would have been appreciated.

That said, the keyboard is relatively portable, given its substantive design. It measures 13.9 inches across (at its widest point) and 6.5 inches front to back. And it stands 0.75 inch thick, which is impressively thin given the shape and contour of its keys.

The keys are not backlit, though, and the white letters don’t stand out well in dark environments. Furthermore, the letters themselves appear to be an applique, rather than etched into the plastic. While we didn’t have any issues with their durability while we tested the keyboard, we could see keytop-label wear being an issue down the road if the keyboard takes a serious road warrior’s beating.

One more frustration: Exactly what the integrated Windows 8 shortcut keys do isn't well-documented. While Windows 8’s five Charms are accessible via the F5 through F8 keys (and the Windows key), this isn’t all that clear from the keys' tiny icons, nor is it mentioned in the included setup booklet. Ditto for the F9 through F12 keys and how they can assist you, in Windows 8, in switching among open apps, showing open apps in List or Apps view, and engaging the split-screen mode in the Modern UI. You're on your own to poke 'em and figure 'em out.